Gardening in High Heels

cultivate a beautiful life

If I Had a Super Power

I’m not one to cut corners, but if I had to, I’d totally use superpowers to cut down on some tasks that I’m not a fan of.  I guess you could say that my superpower would be to make errands and stupid-but-necessary tasks to do themselves.  Get ready for the second-t0-last day of Blogger, May I, if I had a super power…

If I had a super power...

If I had a super power…

  • All coupons would cut and sort themselves
  • The garbage would walk itself out on Tuesday night
  • Traffic would part before my car
  • My charging cables would all be in easy reach
  • My craft supplies would organize themselves (I actually kind of like organizing, but only if I have furniture in my office, which I don’t right now.)
  • Bills would put themselves into the bill binder
  • Blog images would edit and alt-text themselves
  • Meal plans would make themselves (but I’ll have to get better with this because I signed up for Emily Levenson’s Project:Food Budget so I kind of don’t have a choice – so let’s do it together and make it less painful!)
  • Weeds would pick themselves from the roots and fling themselves from my garden

What would your super power be?

 


Plant a Garden in Under an Hour

Gardening is a new found love.  I really got into it when my mom moved away and I moved into her house.  It was either maintain her garden, weed a little bit, and get some veggies out of it OR weed a big space of dirt and get no veggies.  I think the choice was clear.

She has a thumb so green, it’s practically neon.  I’m not so day-glo just yet, but I have learned a thing or two.  For today’s Blogger, May I prompt, a list of 10 things, I’m sharing how to easily make your own garden a reality in under an hour in 10 easy steps.

How to plant a garden in under an hour in 10 easy steps.

1. Find somewhere to put some plants.  Got a little space in your yard?  Is it sunny?  Great!  Next step.

2. Go and buy the plants.  I’d love to start my plants from seed, but that requires a lot of forethought.  I wasn’t invested in the garden enough to start them in January, and if I planted most of the plants now, they wouldn’t start producing until like..October and ain’t nobody got time for that.

If you’re like me, Home Depot will be sold out of cherry tomato plants and you’ll have to go back to buy more plants.  Much fist shaking happening at Home Depot.

(Okay, this part may take over an hour in and of itself.  I can never decide how many tomatoes I want or what kinds of herbs I think I’ll need/don’t have seeds for.  Don’t count this against the hour allotted!)

3. Weed the garden space one last time.  You probably will have done this two weeks ago and then gotten a handful of frosts, so you couldn’t put plants in yet.  Frost will kill a new pepper plant, but apparently nothing kills the spiky weeds in my garden that attack me to no end when I try to eradicate them.

Optionally, you got lazy and the frosts were a coincidence. #BlessingInDisguise

4. Figure out where you want to put your plants.  Don’t put the same plants where you had them last year.  Crop rotation, soil fatigue, gardening terms here…

This took me a while because I wanted to keep like plants together, save room around the edges for beans and peas, not forget about seeds I wanted to plant, and keep in mind where everything was last year.  I went through a few different configurations.

Plant a garden in under an hour in 10 easy steps.

5. Plant!  I mean, there isn’t much to say about this step.  Dig a hole, drop the plant in, cover with dirt.  Ta da!

6. Discover more little weeds that need to just.die.already. Pick them and vigorously throw them anywhere but inside the garden.

7. Give your plants a little food.  My mom recommends Miracle Gro plant food.  I happened to have Osmocote from my Christmas stocking, so that’s what I used.  This will really help to get them started off on the right foot (root?) and get them to grow big and strong.

8. Water.  Gently, por favor!

9. Do a little happy dance.  Realize you forgot to leave a space for the cherry tomatoes.  Curse Home Depot a little more.

10. Marvel that it only took an hour.

Have you ever planted a garden?  What’s your favorite thing to grow?


The struggle is real

I try not to write about work too much here because I don’t want to put something on the internet that I may regret or not want to have it reflect the company I work for in a negative way.  But today’s Blogger, May I theme is hashtag everything, so I figured this is a fun way of talking about it.  Take it with much salt.

Not that I’m absolutely hating life and not wishing to work there anymore, that’s not what I’m saying at all. #ItIsntLikeACertainRestaurantIWorkedFor

I’m starting to realize that I don’t fit in with my coworkers.  I’ve always been a head-down kind of person.  I work until the job is done.  So while everyone is standing around having fun and talking, I’m in my cube staring at my computer. #MyEyesWillHateMeSomeDay

I’ll stand around and BS with them, sure, but I don’t feel like I’m 100% included in their group.  I’m wondering if I’ve separated myself from them and if I could ever be truly a part of their group. #IveNeverFitIn #BlackSheepWalking

It’s also becoming crystal clear now more than ever that I’m not a customer service person.  I like coaching people on how to best use social media to their advantage.  That part is awesome. #MyRetailersAreAwesome

But I don’t like repeating myself, especially when it’s simple questions over and over. #ThisIsTheSongThatNeverEnds

#IHaveNOPatience and it really tries my patience.

I’d rather work with a handful of customers and do it well than a lot of customers and do it so-so.  Y’know?

Like I said last Sunday Lately, it clicked with me why I have no patience for people who won’t just click the damn button on their own.  #JustTryItAlready!

You don’t need permission to always make the right decision.  Just make a decision.  And try doing something for yourself first. #SeriouslyThoughJustTryItAlready

So I’ve been trying to figure out ways to satisfy my desire to work hard yet be part of the group, to have a select group of clients rather than support a large base of them. #TheStruggleIsReal

Have you ever been caught in this situation?  What did you do?


I’m also linking up with Life With Lolo / Genuinely Lauren for Hashtag Humpday!

Treat Yo Self, Pittsburgh Edition

Today’s Blogger, May I prompt is Treat Yo Self.  If you have no idea what we’re talking about….shame on you!  Tom and Donna would surely shun you.

Seriously, it’s a day to treat yo self to anything you want.  You want a new pair of shoes?  Treat Yo Self.  You want to eat a big fancy dinner?  Treat Yo Self.

I decided to put together a list of my favorite places to treat myself in Pittsburgh.  These makers and shakers have some of the best quality goods and I love them oh so much.

List of great places to treat yo self in Pittsburgh

My absolutely hands-down favorite place ever to buy from in Pittsburgh is Moop.  And don’t be afraid to order online.  She has diagrams and charts to help you find the right sized bag for your needs.  Their bags are fantastic quality and what I call industrial chic.  They can be used as a work/travel bag or a night-out clutch (and can hold everything from a laptop + books or just a wallet and some keys).

The best part about Moop is Wendy.  She is such a wonderful person.  She’s always friendly and welcoming when I contact her and her Instagram feed is beautiful.  The rest of her team are rock stars, too.

I also love me some Studebaker Metals for a more edgy touch with some girly charm.  Their hand-forged pieces are durable but so beautiful.  They add a great touch of urban funk to your outfit.  They also have items for men – tie clips, mustache combs, and other accessories (if your man is into those sorts of things).

I can’t get enough of their cuffs, though.  I wear them every day and the one that’s older has a beautiful polish just from normal wear and the newer one is starting to wear off its patina, but it’s still a fantastic grungy element to it.

I was first introduced to Studebaker Metals by Mid-Atlantic Mercantile in Lawrenceville.  That shop is beautiful in a minimalistic way.  Focusing on small-batch goods, everything is selected by Emily, sometimes with specific customers in mind (pro tip, y’all: become friends with the owner).

One of my favorite places for gifts and cards is Wildcard, also in Lawrenceville.  They carry adorable paper goods, gifts, and craft supplies.  I’ve found prints, cards, jewelry, t-shirts, art supplies, notebooks..you name it.  I’d also suggest visiting Jack + Jules, The Shop in East Liberty, and Spoiled Chics for unique gifts.

Honorable mentioned to Steel City Cotton Works, Shop 412, and Fresh Factory for the softest.tees.ever.

What would you treat yo self to?



<This is adapted from my post on The Fashionable Eye for the Pittsburgh Great Blog Exchange.

Summer Plans

Well this is coming in super late, but late is better than never, right!  Today’s Blogger, May I prompt is Summer Plans.  Man.  There are things I’d like to do this summer, but they aren’t realistic given my PTO schedule and obligations.  Things like “Travel to a beach. Drink on a beach” etc are just not in the cards.

Summer plans

But there are some things I can do at home.  What I would like to do is:

  • Get a crop of plants from my garden enough to make pesto and sauce and eggplant parm and green beans and zucchini bread (all the zucchini recipes) all summer long
  • Run at least 5 miles a week (totally doable)
  • Schedule Levo events for July -September by the middle of June
  • Enjoy the Steers and Beers summer tradition
  • Keep blogging every day (almost every day?)
  • Visit my best friend and see her new apartment
  • Make advances with blogging sponsorships and consulting work
  • Keep a vase full of fresh flowers from the garden

That sounds like a lot of work and not much summer lovin’ vacation stuff.

What’s on your list of summer plans?


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We Belong in the Garden Together